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Americans exercising more, but also spend more time sitting
Despite exercising more, Americans are also sitting more and failing to maintain a healthy diet, leading obesity rates to continue climbing, according to a joint report released by the Stanford Center on Longevity and Time.
According to the “Sightlines Project Report,” the percentage of people meeting or exceeding the recommended weekly “dose” of exercise, or 150 or more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity, is on the rise in every age group. Citing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES), which polls 6,000 Americans biannually, the researchers found that 38.6% of adults were getting the recommended amount of exercise in 1999, compared with 45.4% in 2011.
“The increase among Millennials is especially noteworthy with 58% meeting guidelines in 2011,” researchers wrote in the report. “The least educated, those with the lowest incomes, as well as African-Americans and Hispanics, have reported lower levels of exercise in the past, but were nearly on par with the more educated, affluent and white counterparts in 2011.”
However, everyone is also sitting for longer periods of time: NHANES data indicate 43.3% of adults were sedentary for 5 or more hours per day in 1999, compared with 53% in 2011. At the same time, the percentage of Americans eating the recommended minimum number of servings of fruits and vegetables per day, stated as five or more, has remained stagnant at approximately 25% among all ages over the past decade.
“One might hope that increased exercise might reduce or at least slow the rise in obesity,” the researchers wrote in the report. “Yet, obesity continued to inch upward from 1999 to 2011.More than one in three Americans under the age of 75 is obese.”
In addition, the researchers found that obesity rates among Americans aged 25 to 54 years, and those 75 years and older, are substantially higher than they were 12 years ago. Among blacks, one in two Americans is now obese, according to the report.
The Sightlines Project, overseen by faculty members at Stanford University in California, began in 2014 to provide data analysis on the American population and identify trends in well-being as people age, particularly regarding financial security, social engagement and health. The results are based on eight nationally representative, multiyear studies that included more than 1.2 million Americans over 2 decades.
The Stanford Center on Longevity and Time have also sponsored a survey, conducted by Hart Research Associates, which found 33% of Americans are unhappy with their weight. In addition, of those who are unhappy with their weight, 26% report they find it more difficult to eat less unhealthy food than to add more healthy foods to their diet.
“For all the major medical miracles performed on a regular basis, the biggest challenge confronting this nation is protecting people from their own eating habits,” Peter D. Hart, of Hart Research Associates, said in a press release. “Americans profess that they would like to live to the ripe old age of 100 in good health, however, we eat like there is no tomorrow.”
The online Hart survey, conducted as a supplement to the Sightlines Project Report, polled 2,330 adults aged 18 years and older, from Nov. 20 to Dec. 1, 2015. Among its other findings were that women (41%) and members of Generation X (40%) are the most unhappy about their weight. In addition, 24% of Americans feel they are successful at getting enough exercise, and 61% are “very” or “fairly concerned” about staying healthy and avoiding serious illness. – by Jason Laday
For more information:
http://hartresearch.com/americans-long-life-expectations-clash-with-reality/
http://hartresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Time-Longevity-Topline-Results.pdf
http://hartresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Time-Longevity-Overview.pdf